Codonopsis, Hyacinth Bean, Lotus Seed, Euryale Seed & Loach Fish Soup

Why people make this soup

Loach fish (牛鳅鱼, niu qiu yu) is one of Nourilo’s favourite soup fish — clean in flavour and well suited to long, slow simmering. When you pan-fry the fish first and then simmer it slowly, the resulting broth is richly savoury, milky-white, and deeply warming. Paired with a classic combination of spleen-supporting Chinese herbs — codonopsis, lotus seeds, euryale seeds, and toasted hyacinth beans — the soup becomes one of the most complete digestive-support soups in the Cantonese repertoire. It works for the whole family: for children who seem to eat but never seem to grow, for adults whose stomachs feel perpetually tired, and for anyone whose absorption just seems off.

Method

1. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the loach fish on both sides until lightly golden and fragrant. (This step creates a richer, more flavourful broth.)
2. Rinse and briefly soak the codonopsis root, hyacinth beans, lotus seeds, euryale seeds, and dried tangerine peel. Drain.
3. Remove the pitted stones from the red dates.
4. Bring 2.4 L of water to a boil in a large pot. Add all the ingredients, including the pan-fried fish (place it in a mesh soup bag if you want to eat the other ingredients cleanly afterwards).
5. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook gently for 1 hour.
6. Remove the fish bag if used. Serve the soup hot, drinking the broth and eating the herb and vegetable ingredients.

Nourilo’s Tips

The pan-fried fish can be placed in a mesh soup bag (available at Chinese kitchenware shops) before going into the pot. This way, when the soup is ready, you simply lift out the bag and the rest of the ingredients — lotus seeds, euryale seeds, and so on — are easy to eat without bones getting in the way. The soup is naturally sweet and delicious. Those with habitual constipation should give this one a miss, as the astringent herbs will not help the situation. If loach fish is hard to find, carp (鲩鱼) or small red snapper (红衫鱼仔) work equally well.